Buy it... if a strong taste of John Williams' trademark melodrama
is your desire, especially if it resurrects the adventure of Far and
Away and stature of Born on the Fourth of July.

Avoid it... if you approach Williams scores looking immediately for
a dominant theme or two in an obvious concert arrangement, a feature
from yesteryear increasingly absent from the maestro's later works.

EDITORIAL REVIEW

FILMTRACKS TRAFFIC RANK: #579

WRITTEN
11/26/11

BUY IT

Williams

War Horse: (John Williams) British author Michael
Morpurgo had attempted unsuccessfully to translate his acclaimed 1982
novel "War Horse" into a screenplay for many years until, oddly enough,
an adaptation into a successful 2007 stage production finally proved it
possible. His story had been originally told through the perspective of
a horse which managed to survive World War I and return to its English
owner, a rare feat considering how many millions of horses died in the
conflict. The play proved that the concept could indeed be conveyed
through traditional narrative means, and after resumed attempts to write
a screenplay in 2009, famed movie director and producer Steven Spielberg
decided very swiftly to pick up the rights to War Horse and
direct it for DreamWorks. The story remains one of hearty family spirit,
targeted at Christmas audiences ready for tear jerking PG-13 drama. The
titular horse, Joey, begins his journey on a farm in Devon, England,
bonding with the young man of the Narracott household. When the war
requires the horse to be sold into service, Joey's traumatic departure
develops into a series of trials working for both the British and German
armies on the front. Eventually separated from the conflict and
befriended by sympathetic handlers, the horse makes the inevitable
return to his origins in sappy Spielberg fashion (before you scream
"spoiler," what exactly did you think was going to happen in this plot?
Would Joey really be slaughtered, canned, and fed to dogs as part of the
celebration of the Great Union in Romania?). Spielberg assembled his
usual collaborators for the $90 million production, including composer
John Williams, who, while nearing the age of 80, was resurrecting his
film scoring career in late 2011 with two concurrent Spielberg films.
Although War Horse had long generated significant interest from
Williams enthusiasts eager for another taste of the maestro's dramatic
sensibilities, the project was preceded by The Adventures of Tintin:
The Secret of the Unicorn. The Spielberg animated movie received
music from Williams that not only serviced its concept with flourishing
humor and excitement, but proved that the composer was still at the top
of his game even at his advancing age. The technical marvel that exists
in the composition of The Adventures of Tintin yields to a more
pastoral approach by Williams for War Horse, though with little
diminishment in quality.

The pair of The Adventures of Tintin and War
Horse confirms that Williams' unique voice in the world of film
music remains intellectually superior to his peers in the industry. In
the 2000's and beyond, computer software has allowed a fair number of
mediocre composers to excel and has caused talented composers to spin
their wheels, and to hear Williams in action in 2011 is a powerful
reminder of why he took the world by storm during the Bronze Age of film
music. Between these two Williams works, you hear nearly the full
spectrum of the composer's capabilities called upon for duty (except for
choral writing), and War Horse in particular focuses on extending
the composer's prior successes in storytelling involving nature,
perseverance, and family. It was widely stated at the time of War
Horse's debut that Williams was clearly influenced by the English
tones of Ralph Vaughan Williams, though while this is indeed the case,
listeners may be struck to an even greater degree by how much the score
resembles John Williams' earlier achievements. The American composer
infuses the English undertones with two somewhat controversial but
arguably acceptable and effective sounds: Celtic and Americana. The
former exists in the jaunty expressions of joy heard early in War
Horse, as well as in the shadows of Williams' music for the natural
setting of England. It's a somewhat curious move that does occasionally
distract, though for untrained ears it will be of little concern. More
expected, perhaps, is Williams' infusion of his own American
sensibilities into the score. The composer has become synonymous with
modern American classicism, writing flowing orchestral identities for
nearly every venue in American life, from the Olympics to national news
themes, presidential inauguration music, and even an American football
theme. It's not surprising, therefore, that a touch of The
Patriot and Born on the Fourth of July both bleed through in
places during War Horse. At many times, and especially when the
slight Celtic influences are applied, it's hard not to ponder the glory
of Far and Away, one of Williams' most lasting (but sadly
unheralded) music for a great journey. The tone of War Horse is
playful and stark when necessary, but you will ultimately be drawn to
its straight dramatic expressions of heart and grandeur, especially in
its opening and closing thirds. Whereas The Adventures of Tintin
lacks the long-lined string themes of elegant sway from Williams' best
years, War Horse contains them in abundance. In fact, almost too
much so.

When you look back at Williams' last year or two of
production before his shift away from movies after 2005, you will note
that the composer strayed from writing scores dominated by extremely
memorable sets of themes during that period. In his pair of 2011 works,
he seemingly overcompensates in the other direction, gracing The
Adventures of Tintin and War Horse with a plethora of ideas
so finely developed and spread through their scores that both become
extremely melodically dense. It's somewhat ironic to ponder the fact
that these Williams scores can develop and maintain upwards of ten
themes apiece but not allow any one of them in either score to establish
itself as the resounding concert hall identity for the years to come. In
the case of War Horse, you once again have a circumstance in
which there really is no dominant main theme. There are four themes that
carry the majority of the load, with several secondary ideas branching
out of those constructs, but none of them is applied in such a way as to
clearly represent the whole. As such, you have a score, like The
Adventures of Tintin, that is a complex tapestry of very precise
individual motifs that eventually blend together to form a more general
tone of Williams drama that will, in a more nebulous way, define the
work. For those lamenting Williams' absence from this genre for the
better half of a decade, that stew of gorgeous and respectful
ingredients will alone suffice. A perfectly balanced 65-minute
presentation of War Horse on album conveys a solid narrative flow
that shifts effortlessly through Williams' themes and asks only for you
to be encapsulated by its demeanor, not inspired by the prowess of its
melodies. In these abstract appreciations, the score will certainly
merit five stars from many of the composer's collectors. When you
dissect the sometimes redundant and meandering thematic associations,
however, and take into account the skittish ethnic element and the
sometimes reduced presence during the middle sections of war, the
analytical listener will likely peg War Horse as a solid four
star effort. It's tough for anyone not to be carried away by the
abstract beauty of this score, but the unnecessarily complicated
thematic associations in the score (and therefore lack of overarching
identity for casual movie-goers) do need to be addressed. For the
purposes of this review, tackling the score by its themes will be more
beneficial than by its major cues as presented on the album. Only in
sour, understated, and at times dissonant middle section cues like "The
Desertion" and "The Death of Topthorn" does Williams fail to really
develop one of his many themes.

Of the four primary themes and additional four or five
secondary ideas in War Horse, there are two from the former
grouping that compete to be called the "main" theme. In the original
music that Williams wrote for the trailers to the film, he referenced
both prominently, and they also feature in obvious, dramatic
performances during the first and final thirds of the score. What
Williams likely intended to be that main identity is a friendship theme
heard only after the man and the horse begin to bond and, logically,
when they reunite. This theme represents the most pastoral, major-key
heartiness in the score's duration, the tear-jerking tool of
melodramatic loveliness carried by the usual Williams' techniques of
solo French horn and layered strings. You don't hear the theme until the
solo horn statement at 3:18 into "Bringing Joey Home, and Bonding,"
strings swirling around it shortly once again at 0:30 into "Learning the
Call." A pair of brief reminders in "Plowing" includes the full ensemble
formal announcement of the theme at 3:33. After another short reprise on
strings before the score sharply changes focus late in "Ruined Crop, and
Going to War," this friendship theme is absent from the work until
several expressions in the last trio of major cues. Williams' placement
of the theme's full ensemble performances late in "Remembering Emilie,
and Finale" and "The Homecoming" likely denotes its status as the
score's main identity, though even in these passages, the theme is
flanked and obscured by Williams' supporting ideas. The other candidate
to be the "main" theme of War Horse is the one most likely
representing the purity of innocence that comes in the landscape of the
farm's locale. This broad theme for the English countryside (and perhaps
Dartmoor in particular) is an anchor of the score's pre-war sequences,
raising the most vivid memories of Far and Away. It's also the
most resoundingly "Williamsesque" in its obvious ensemble expressions,
beginning with its full announcement at 2:09 into "Dartmoor, 1912." A
pair of flute performances of this theme in the middle of "Bringing Joey
Home, and Bonding" leads to another satisfying ensemble reminder at 2:25
in "Seeding, and Horse vs. Car." The usage of the theme in several
places during "Plowing" culminates into a tired but noble
timpani-pounding rendition at 3:57 that highlights the entire score.
Unfortunately, this theme disappears by necessity until a pair of less
dramatic performances in the middle of "The Homecoming" ultimately
diminishes the theme's importance. Not since Patrick Doyle's Thor
earlier in 2011 has such a powerfully potent secondary identity
dominated an early portion of a film score only to fade unceremoniously
away into the larger fabric of the rest of the work.

Mirroring the narrative arc of the theme for Dartmoor
and the English location in general is the one simultaneously developed
by Williams for the farming action in War Horse. Doubling for the
Narracott family, this farming theme is a rhythmic woodwind identity
over pulsating brass and swirling strings that contain much of the
English sensibility in the score. Heard alternating with the more noble
Darmoor locale theme in "Dartmoor, 1912" starting in the middle of the
second minute, this optimistic, rollicking idea provides a light-hearted
break from the toils of the story's drama in numerous places during
"Learning the Call," "Seeding, and Horse vs. Car," and "Plowing," the
pulsing brass rhythms a highlight. The theme then disappears until the
very opening of "The Homecoming" and a brief reminder of the idea later
in that summary cue. It some regards, the farming theme is simply a
brightly colored offshoot of the more dramatic Dartmoor location theme,
the two often adjoined in performance. Likewise, the main friendship
theme has its own secondary motif that grows out of the deeper affection
earned in the last trio of cues. Heard in the waning moments of "The
Reunion," this relative grows out of a piano solo in the middle of
"Remembering Emilie, and Finale" to redemptive heights later in that cue
and with even greater emphasis near the end of "The Homecoming." Another
interesting motif that connects a concept early and late in the picture
is a woodwind identity at 2:15 into "Bringing Joey Home, and Bonding"
that is reprised only on harp at the outset of "The Reunion," perhaps
reflecting the meeting process between the man and horse. Similarly tied
to the beginning and end of the film is an almost mystical, slightly
Celtic theme again reminiscent of Far and Away that is led by
solo flute and seems to serve as the foundational canvas for the entire
story, maybe as a representation of fate. Opening "Dartmoor, 1912" and
closing "The Homecoming," this elusive theme is suggested on strings in
a couple of early cues before signing off during the tale at the end of
"Plowing." Yet another theme also follows the same path, growing out of
the motif of fate to represent the spirit of the horse. Opening "The
Auction," this idea seemingly bridges the themes for fate and the farm,
receiving extended treatment only during almost two full minutes early
in "The Homecoming." As you probably can determine by now, War
Horse is a completely different score in its first third than in the
remainder, only shadows of the multitude of early themes reprised in the
more mature, battle-weary versions at the redemptive end. In between
these sections, the middle of War Horse is largely defined by the
final of its four major thematic identities, that of war.

There is an undoubtedly pronounced shift that takes
hold in War Horse when the trumpet call for war is first heard at
2:30 into "Ruined Crop, and Going to War." The tone of this lonely
trumpet identity will, along with its supporting passages on strings,
strongly suggest connections to Williams' Born on the Fourth of
July. Despite the aggressive battle material in the middle of "The
Charge and Capture," with challenging layers of brass and percussion
over troubled beds of string rhythms that will recall War of the
Worlds, the war theme remains static in its solo trumpet statements
on either end. The tortured horn material later in "The Charge and
Capture" resides closer to the tumultuous portions of realization in
Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. The most appealing war-related
cue in War Horse is certainly "Pulling the Cannon," which follows
a trumpet call of the war theme with an agonizing sequence that finally
pulls the full weight of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith out for
an extended period of adversity. The war theme is finally juxtaposed
with this rhythmic action material late in "No Man's Land," which
explodes in its latter half with impressive snare-ripping action.
Williams poignantly closes out "Remembering Emilie, and Finale" with a
final echo of this theme. Overall, these themes produce consistent
lyricism and maintain listener interest in all cues during which they
perpetually intermingle. A distinct maturation process exists in War
Horse by necessity, but those seeking the enthusiasm and playfulness
of the early sequences, the ambitiously rhythmic battle portions in the
middle, or the grand sweep of the redemptive melodrama at the end will
be left concentrating on only those parts of the score. The lack of one
overarching, truly dominant thematic identity causes these thirds of the
score to feel strangely disconnected despite Williams' best efforts to
carry over half a dozen identities from the first act to the third.
Thus, from a thematic standpoint, War Horse is a slightly
disappointing, overly-complex package of pinpoint precision that loses
general appeal at some points. Had all the themes for the English
location (including fate and farming) been merged and offered alongside
the friendship, bonding, and affection-related themes as two definitive
answers to the war theme, War Horse would likely have benefitted
greatly. Still, being a Williams score, this music relies on the
intelligence of its constructs to succeed, and in that regard, the
composer continues to prove that he is at the top of his game. Rather
than worry about the difficultly he faced when being forced to abandon
all of his many themes halfway through the picture, enjoy each portion
of War Horse for its inherent saturation with Williams' trademark
sensibilities. While not among the best from the composer's storytelling
capabilities, it is satisfyingly close to that level. ****@Amazon.com: CD or
Download

Bias Check:

For John Williams reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.76
(in 71 reviews)and the average viewer rating is 3.65
(in 344,413 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.

The insert includes very limited credits, a list of performers, and
the following note from Steven Spielberg:

"The dramatic countryside of Dartmoor has inspired John Williams to
compose a score of such beauty and quiet majesty that one might think
the earth was speaking through him, much as the heavens have done for
nearly five decades. When I first heard John's sketches of the four
central themes for War Horse, I didn't need my memories of the
film to underscore the feelings I was having. The music was a
stand-alone experience and it affected me deeply, as have so many of
John's scores during our nearly 40-year collaboration. I feel that John
has made a special gift to me of this music, which was inspired not only
by my film but also by many of the picturesque settings of the poet
William Wordsworth, whose vivid descriptions of the British landscape
inspired much of what you are going to hear. I'm not sure what I can
give John in return, other than a promise of more films to come... for
as many more years as we both can imagine!"